Collection
by MeisterYM
Summary: A number of short stories that readers can take a look at if they're waiting for the next title. Will be updated as time passes, but not often. Spoiler Warning: The story takes place beyond one year after Volumes 8 and 9 when Shido seals Natsumi's powers. Notes: 1.) Characters do not behave like they normally do in the light novel or anime series.
1. Valentine's Day

Collection

By: MeisterYM

**_Valentine's Day_**

While walking towards his classroom, Shido Itsuka heard someone call his name from behind.

"Shido!~"

Shido turned around to see a girl with dark plum hair and indigo colored eyes running towards him with something in one of her hands.

"Oh, morning Tohka. What's up?"

Tohka held the item in her hand out to Shido after she had reached an arm length distance.

"Here."

Shido took the item from Tohka's hand with bewilderment and stared at it for a few seconds. It was a red, heart-shaped box with a golden bow placed on top of the cover.

"Is this…chocolate?"

"That's right."

"For me?"

"Yeah. The others and I decided to make some."

Tohka confirmed Shido's suspicions while giving a nod.

"O-Oh, thanks…"

Tohka noticed the expression that Shido's face was making.

"What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing."

Shido shook his head, trying not to worry Tohka.

"It's just that…well…you know…"

Tohka tilted her head, showing that she was puzzled.

"I…got some chocolate from someone else too…"

It took Tohka a moment to process what Shido was saying, but eventually she began to understand.

"Oh, that."

Tohka spoke normally as if she wasn't bothered by the circumstances that Shido had pointed out.

"It's okay, just think of it as obligation chocolate."

"Are you really okay with that?"

"Yeah. Everyone and I already planned to offer it like that."

Tohka replied with a cheerful smile.

"Just make sure you actually try it, okay? Everyone worked really hard on it."

"Yeah, of course."

Shido gave a quick nod.

"Thanks, again, Tohka. I'll make sure to try them."

"Good."

Tohka continued to smile brightly.

"Come on, class is about to start."

Tohka passed Shido and entered the classroom, enjoying her day like she always was. Shido followed shortly after with a smile, grateful that things turned out well.

* * *

"And then she just went inside the classroom."

"Oh?"

Kurumi Tokisaki spoke as if she was upset.

"So, did you have some?"

Scrubbing sounds could be heard.

"The chocolate? Yeah, I had some. I promised her I would."

"I see."

More scrubbing.

"How did they taste?"

Shido looked up at the ceiling as he replied.

"To be honest, they were pretty good."

Shido smiled proudly.

"Tohka's gotten better."

"Is that so?"

Shido suddenly held his hands up in a panic.

"O-Of course yours were really good too."

"Really?"

Even more scrubbing. Shido could feel the rhythm growing quicker.

"H-Hey, Kurumi."

"Yes?"

"Are you…mad?"

"Why, of course not."

Even though his back was facing her, Shido could feel Kurumi smiling darkly from behind. Despite the ominous atmosphere, he tried to convince himself that she truly wasn't upset.

"T-That's good…"

"It'd be rude to reject Tohka-san and everyone else's feelings after they worked so hard, after all."

"R-Right?"

Shido gave a nervous laugh.

"Of course mine tasted better, didn't they?"

Shido hesitated for a millisecond too long.

"Didn't they, Shido?"

The atmosphere was growing even tenser.

"Y-Yeah…"

Shido apologized to Tohka and the others in his mind several times over, hoping that they would understand that someone's life might be on the line if he replied differently.

"Then that's good."

The pace of the scrubbing was beginning to slow down.

"Shido."

"Y-Yes?"

Kurumi had finally stopped scrubbing Shido's back.

"I'm going to run the water now."

"O-Okay."

The moment Shido agreed, an incredible chill suddenly ran through his back, causing him to jump forward and stand straight up. A stream of cold water had run down his back.

"You are mad!"

Kurumi turned her head away while slightly pouting.

"My, I have no idea what you're talking about."


	2. New Morning Routine

**_New Morning Routine_**

"…"

Lying in bed, Shido could hear birds chirping outside his window. Today seemed as if it was going to be another peaceful day. Unfortunately, he didn't feel as though the peace would be shared with him.

"Hey, Kurumi."

"Yes?"

"Don't you think we should get out of bed now?"

"You can get out of bed whenever you like, Shido."

"No, I can't!"

Shido turned his head to talk to the girl clinging to his right arm.

Kurumi stared back at Shido blankly.

"Why are you even here?"

"Kotori-san told me to come wake you up."

"So you're holding me in bed?"

Kurumi gave a chuckle.

"I suddenly felt like sleeping for a little longer."

"Neither one of us is sleeping."

As usual, Kurumi took Shido's comment in an entirely different direction.

"Are you saying that you won't let me sleep, Shido?"

"What made you get that idea?"

Kurumi began to move underneath the covers.

"K-K-K-Kurumi?"

Before Shido knew it, Kurumi was suddenly mounting herself on top of him. Her right leg was between both of his and her hands were placed beside his head.

The current position made Shido's heartbeat accelerate to the point where if he said anything, his heart would jump out of his mouth.

Kurumi's face was turning pink. She slowly leaned her face closer to Shido's. Shido instinctively closed his eyes, anticipating a kiss.

Suddenly, the door to Shido's room swung open.

On the other end of the door, a girl with red eyes along with red hair tied into twin tails by black ribbons was staring at the couple furiously. Her cheeks were beginning to flush.

"What the hell are you doing!?"

"Oh, Kotori-san, good morning~"

Kurumi had moved her face away from Shido's to greet his little sister with a smile.

"It's noon."

Kotori's expression was neutral as she mentioned the time.

"What's wrong with sleeping until noon? It's the weekend, after all."

Kurumi continued to look at Kotori innocently.

"Even so, I sent you to wake Shido up an hour ago!"

Kotori's voice was growing louder as she pointed her index finger at Kurumi.

"Why did it take an hour for you to come check on us?"

As the situation escalated, Shido's voice was also growing louder while he was still being mounted by Kurumi.

"You shut up!"

"I don't think that'll be a problem at this rate."

Kotori's face began to grow redder as she saw Shido and Kurumi in their current positions. Her pointed finger was slightly trembling.

"Could you give us another hour?"

Kurumi asked with the kindest voice.

"Not a chance! Get up!"

Kotori's disapproval made Kurumi frown. She turned to look at Shido again.

"It seems we have a problem, Shido. What would you like to do?"

"Why are you asking me!?"

Shido showed no sign of calming down.

"It is your room."

"That doesn't seem to be stopping you from doing what you want."

"Then can we keep going?"

"Why!?"

"Enough!"

Kotori began to approach the two on the bed.

"Get up already!"

Kurumi suddenly embraced Shido's head.

"My, Shido, Kotori-san seems to be feeling left out. What should we do?"

"Again, why are you asking me!?"

Kotori had frozen the moment Kurumi teased her. Her expression suddenly grew dark.

"K-Kotori?"

Shido's face now showed signs of worry.

"I see. So that's how you want to play it."

"My, did I make you upset, Kotori-san?"

Kurumi made an innocent smile.

"Hey, Kurumi!"

Shido was worried that Kurumi was taking the situation too far.

Enraged that Kurumi had made such a claim, Kotori began to raise her right hand.

"W-Wait a second, Kotori! She didn't mean it! Forgive her already!"

Kotori's hand continued to rise, until it reached one of the black ribbons that was tying her hair. She slowly loosened the knot, and swiftly pulled it off. The behavior made Kurumi stare in bewilderment.

Kotori then proceeded to untie the other ribbon that was tying her hair.

When both of the ribbons came off, Kotori pulled out what seemed like white ribbons, and began trying her hair into twin tails again.

"Hey, Kotori, what are you…?"

Before Shido could finish asking his question, Kotori had finished tying her hair and suddenly made an energetic yell as she jumped straight onto the bed.

Kurumi had barely managed to dismount Shido and move to lie next to his left side.

The moment Kurumi had thrown herself off, Kotori had taken her former place on the bed and began pulling the covers off.

"Onii-chan, it's time to wake up!"

Kotori had tied her ribbons to become the sweeter sister that Shido knew.

"K-Kotori, what are you…?"

"I'm doing this because you aren't getting up!"

Kotori continued to pull the covers, but Shido was holding the other side. A smile had formed on her face.

"My, Kotori-san, did you want to join Shido in bed that badly?"

Kurumi was suddenly interested in Kotori's sudden change in personality.

The moment Kotori heard Kurumi's question, she stopped pulling the covers and turned to look at the woman who was having her way with her older brother, but her expression didn't seem to show any upset emotions like before. Instead, she excitedly let go of the part of the covers that Shido was holding and leaned closer to Kurumi.

"Hey, Onee-chan, you should get up too."

The sudden title that Kotori addressed Kurumi with caught both her and Shido off guard.

"O-Onee…chan…?"

It was Kurumi's turn to have her cheeks flush.

"Hey, hey, Onee-chan, hurry and get up!"

Kotori suddenly threw herself at Kurumi and tried to pull the covers off of her.

Shido's little sister was now on top of Kurumi, while Kurumi was trying her best to keep Kotori off.

"Sh-Shido! What's going on?"

The covers were pulled off of Kurumi, and Kotori was now hugging her as if trying to cuddle with her.

"W-Well, long story short, that's how she is when she isn't wearing her black ribbons."

"W-What does that mean? H-Hey, Kotori-san, that tickles!"

Kotori was cuddling with Kurumi to the point where Kurumi yelped a few times from having her body tickled.

"Heehee, Onee-chan~ Onee-chan~"

Kotori chimed Kurumi's new title as if it was natural. Shido had never seen her act this way towards anyone other than himself. Therefore he was dumbfounded. But for some reason, he also felt a warm feeling in his chest, which made him form a wide smile on his face.

In order to not let either of the two notice his expression, Shido suddenly pulled the covers over his head and laid back onto the mattress of his bed.

"Ah, Onii-chan! Don't go back to bed!"

Kotori was now once again pulling the side of Shido's cover, no longer prioritizing Kurumi.

"Hey, Kotori."

The tone of Shido's voice had changed as it was heard from under the covers.

"Hm? What's the matter?"

Kotori stopped tugging the sheets for a moment and tilted her head.

"I think…the T-virus is coming back…"

"T…virus?"

Kurumi repeated what Shido said slowly, confused. She looked at Kotori for an explanation, but what she saw instead was suddenly a look of fear.

"O-Onii-chan…?"

The moment Kotori called out to her older brother, the covers flew off from Shido and the expression he made was terrifying – at least to Kotori.

Having her fears return a second time, Kotori immediately jumped off the bed and ran out of the bedroom. The moment she was gone, Shido laughed as he laid back onto his bed.

Kurumi remained sitting on the other side, more confused than before.

"Was that…really Kotori-san?"

Shido laughed a little more before giving a reply.

"Yeah, that's her other side."

"I see."

"So, what did you think? 'Onee-chan?'"

Shido emphasized Kurumi's new title.

Hearing herself being addressed as someone she wasn't used to being again, Kurumi's cheeks immediately reddened.

"T-That's…"

Seeing the rare scene of Kurumi being flustered, Shido couldn't help but laugh even more. Though she was still embarrassed, she couldn't help but laugh along with him.

Eventually the laughter died, and there was silence in the room again. Kurumi had decided to break the silence shortly after.

"…shouldn't we go check on Kotori-san?"

"Are you worried about her?"

"…"

Kurumi remained silent, not wanting to admit what she was feeling.

"She'll be fine."

"Right…"

More silence.

"Well then, should we get out of bed now?"

"R-Right…"

The event that Kurumi had just experienced had ruined her mood for jokes.

"By the way, Shido."

Shido began to sit himself on the corner of his bed before turning to look at Kurumi.

"What's the T-virus?"

Kurumi looked at Shido and showed that she truly was confused. Seeing her so curious, he couldn't help but form a sinister grin on his face.

"The T-virus?"

He turned away and stroked his chin as if to think.

"Well…it's this!"

Instead of replying normally like Kurumi expected, Shido suddenly jumped further back into his bed, pulled the covers above both himself and Kurumi, and began to tickle her.

"W-Wait, Shid-"

As Kurumi was being tickled by Shido, she was letting out yelps that could be heard throughout the house.

* * *

In the end it took them another half hour before they got out of bed. By the time they were finally out of bed, they discovered Kotori hiding behind a coffee table, which she had flipped over onto its side in order to use it as a barricade.


	3. Scent

**_Scent_**

"Kurumi, I'm going to be heading to the grocery store for a bit, do you want to come with?"

Shido was standing near the front door with his shoes already being put on. Kurumi had just entered the hallway with a laundry basket.

"Unfortunately I'm in the middle of doing laundry. Would you mind going on without me?"

"Oh, sure."

Shido nodded, trying to show that he understood her circumstances.

"In that case, is there anything you need?"

Kurumi replied by shaking her head.

"No, not really."

"Alright."

Shido stood up and opened the front door.

"Then, I'll be off."

"Yes, off you go."

Hearing those words, Shido and Kurumi suddenly froze in place, realizing what they had just done.

Shido turned to look at Kurumi. Kurumi's face was as red as an apple's. Shido suddenly scratched his cheek nervously as Kurumi stared at the floor in embarrassment.

"T-Then…I'll be off…"

"Yes…off you go…"

If Shido and Kurumi could hear the beating of each other's hearts during that time, they would have noticed that their heart beats were identical.

* * *

As Kurumi loaded the washing machine with clothes, she noticed that she wasn't able to stop thinking about what occurred moments ago.

_Perhaps I should have went along…_

The thought of not being with Shido was now depressing Kurumi a little, but she attempted to cheer herself up by telling herself that he would be back soon.

Then when Shido comes back, she could tell him "welcome home…"

Kurumi's heartbeat quickened even more as she thought of those words. She shook her head to clear her thoughts.

"Honestly…"

Kurumi's hand suddenly stopped putting clothes into the washing machine. Instead, she looked at what she was holding.

Bringing Shido's shirt closer to her, Kurumi couldn't help but notice the scent that it was giving. If she recalled, it wasn't one that was stained, nor did it reek of sweat. Instead it was still rather fresh, but most importantly, it had started to contain his smell.

After hesitating for what felt like an eternity, Kurumi slowly brought the shirt closer to her face, and slightly sniffed it. The sensation she felt had almost made her faint. It wasn't a bad odor that she smelled.

"What are you doing?"

A sudden voice made Kurumi come back to her senses. She immediately stiffened and slowly turned around to see Kotori standing in the doorway. Both of them were wide-eyed.

"O-Oh, Kotori-san…I…um…I was looking at Shido's shirt…t-that's right…I was inspecting it…I thought that…it…had a stain…"

Kurumi's confidence was shrinking.

Kotori remained wide-eyed, and slowly started to walk to her room as she muttered to herself.

"This relationship is unhealthy, and I refuse to get involved any more than I already have…"

After Kotori left, Kurumi loaded the rest of the laundry into the washing machine.

* * *

"I-I'm back."

Shido said those words with slight embarrassment. He had been thinking about how he would be greeted when he arrived home.

"Oh…welcome back."

Shido had expected Kurumi to greet him back, but instead he saw Kotori standing in the hallway. She looked as if something was on her mind.

"Hm? What's wrong?"

Kotori immediately grew flustered at Shido's question, not sure how she should reply. She remained quiet for a few seconds until deciding how she should answer.

"N-Nothing happened…"

"Right…"

Shido took off his shoes and headed into the living room.

"Where's Kurumi?"

Shido began to place some of the groceries into the fridge.

"…I think you should leave her alone for a while."

"Eh?"

Kotori's sudden remark made Shido turn away from the fridge to look at her.

"Trust me...it's best that you wait and hear it from her…"

"Okay…"

* * *

Later that night, Kurumi only showed up for dinner and was quiet throughout the whole meal. Shido confronted her later in her room and eventually resolved the awkward situation. Kurumi had cheered up when he told her that he felt flattered, but he told shortly after that he would handle the laundry from now on.


	4. Rain

**_Rain_**

Taking a step out of Raizen High's school building, Kurumi's nose was immediately hit by a drop of water. She looked up to notice the sky being enveloped by gray clouds; however, she was only able to notice them for a moment, because her vision of clouds was suddenly replaced by what seemed like the top of an umbrella the second she looked up.

Kurumi carefully turned to look at the person who was holding the umbrella and standing behind her. As always, he was there the moment she needed him.

"Shall we head home?"

Shido Itsuka asked while smiling, which made Kurumi reply with a smile of her own.

"Yes, let's."

* * *

While walking side-by-side with Shido underneath an umbrella, Kurumi's excitement could hardly be contained. There was also a tinge of nervousness, but that feeling probably wasn't going to disappear for a while, considering what the two of them were supposed to be. A moderate amount of rain was now falling onto the umbrella that she and Shido were sharing.

Kurumi was currently looking away from Shido, so she wasn't sure if he was as nervous as she was; however, her curiosity eventually got the better of her, and so she decided to glance over to her right.

Shido was also looking away from Kurumi, his cheeks slightly pink. She lowered her sights and noticed that his right sleeve was getting caught in the rain while she herself was completely unexposed. The gesture made her grateful, but she felt as though the situation wasn't as satisfying with Shido getting part of himself wet. Thus she immediately linked her arms around the one that he was holding the umbrella with and pulled him closer inside so that the roof could cover the both of them better.

"H-Hey, Kurumi…"

"You're getting wet, Shido."

"Well, yeah. It's raining."

"Then come closer."

"Uh…"

Shido didn't think that he could actually move closer to Kurumi when she had just pulled him towards herself. Not to mention that she was still clinging firmly to his arm. The umbrella was now being held at a slightly tilted angle.

"It's sort of difficult to hold the umbrella up when you grab onto my arm like that."

Kurumi gave an amused chuckle.

"You have another arm, don't you?"

"Well, I do, but then I wouldn't be able to cover you very well."

"That's alright, I have my own if I need it."

"Then what's the point of using just mine!?"

"So people know that we're a couple?"

"I think everyone at school already knows that we're a couple now though…"

"That's not good enough."

Shido turned his head to look at Kurumi.

"Eh? What makes you say that?"

Kurumi continued to stare into the distance.

"The world is a big place, Shido."

Shido was certain that he saw Kurumi's expression turn a little sinister.

"That's why I have to make sure that no one on Earth will come between us."

As if in response to Kurumi's sudden hostility, the amount of rain suddenly began to pour harder, and thunder roared throughout the sky.

The convenient wrath of Mother Nature made Shido shiver, causing Kurumi to turn her head and look at him.

"What's the matter, Shido?"

"Oh, n-nothing."

"Is that so?"

Kurumi formed a grin and stared into the distance again. She and Shido continued their walk back home in silence, mostly because Shido was now too busy worrying over the fate of the planet.


	5. School

**_School_**

(Part 1)

Silence.

Just what Shido had expected, since he was currently in the library. But despite being in the quiet environment that he was looking for, the atmosphere was not how he had imagined it would be. There was the feeling that he was being watched. Most likely because he was being watched.

Shido looked away from the notebook that he was writing in and redirected his line of sight to the person sitting in front of him.

"Um…Kurumi…?"

"Yes?"

Kurumi had been supporting her chin with her hands while resting her elbows on the surface of the table that she and Shido were using, smiling.

"Don't take this the wrong way but…I'm kind of having a difficult time studying when you keep staring at me so much…"

"I see."

Kurumi seemed to have understood Shido's concern. Perhaps she had understood before he even noticed that it was going to be a problem. Regardless, her posture didn't change.

"…so…are you going to stop?"

"Stop what?"

Playing dumb, Kurumi pretended to give a clueless expression.

"Staring at me."

"Let's see…"

The reply made Kurumi's expression change to one that said that she was thinking, but the pondering only lasted for a brief second.

"No."

"…can I ask why?"

Kurumi swung her legs back and forth underneath the table.

"Are you sure you want me to say it?"

"…"

Shido gave a hopeless sigh as he scratched his head.

"How am I supposed to concentrate then?"

Shido's attitude made Kurumi give a quiet giggle.

"Maybe I could help you instead."

"Really?"

Shido's face lit up a little as Kurumi mentioned the idea. This side of him wasn't so bad either.

"Yes. At the very least I could check your answers for you."

"That's great! Will you help me then?"

Shido leaned forward a little as he asked.

"I could."

"You…could?"

"Maybe if you promise to take me out somewhere later today."

"…I'll see what I can do."

The smile that Kurumi was making grew wider. Happy that she had struck a deal, she stood up from her seat and sat on the one that was on Shido's left.

"Let's see…"

Kurumi leaned closer to see Shido's notes. As she did so, her right shoulder began to touch his left one. It was a small form of contact, but the feeling didn't help improve his concentration whatsoever.

"Is something wrong, Shido?"

Kurumi looked up at Shido since he didn't seem to be responding to what she was saying.

"Huh? Oh, uh…"

Shido had blanked out for a moment.

"A-Actually, I didn't quite catch that. Sorry."

"That's okay. Let's try again."

Shido returned his attention to the parts of his notebook that Kurumi was pointing at. Slowly but surely, the study session was making progress.

However Kurumi still had some of Shido's attention, and so he still needed her to repeat herself sometimes, just not as often. He was worried that she may have been annoyed by his blanking out, but it seems that she was actually enjoying herself.

In the end the two of them didn't leave the library until a little before evening began.

* * *

(Part 2)

"Shido."

"Hm?"

Shido was leaving the classroom to have lunch but was stopped by a voice calling him from behind. He turned around to see Kurumi standing in front of him.

"Oh, hey, Kurumi."

Shido looked down to see Kurumi holding a significantly large stack of paper. He instinctively walked up to Kurumi and started taking half the stack.

"Oh, you don't have to do that."

"Don't worry about it."

Kurumi couldn't help but give a pleased smile at Shido's courtesy.

"I was going to tell that you could start eating lunch without me, but I guess that's pointless now."

The two of them stood with stacks of paper in their hands, staring at each other.

The other classmates who were still around could have sworn that they saw hearts floating in the air. One of them tried to clear their throat to bring them back to their senses.

"I see they're the same as ever."

"I'm a little jealous."

The mixed comments in the class made Shido and Kurumi realize the emotions that they were stirring. They hurried out of the classroom, faces reddened.

* * *

(Part 3)

"It's nice that Reine-san can give us the keys to the roof."

The weather was nice and warm today.

"I agree."

Sitting on the rooftop of Raizen High, Shido and Kurumi were eating from the bentos that they had prepared at home.

"Okay, Shido, 'ahn~'"

Kurumi held her chopsticks which had a tamago to Shido's mouth.

"Um…you know we have the same lunch, right?"

"That's okay."

"…a-…ahn…"

Face growing slightly pink, Shido slowly opened his mouth. Normally he would be a little more hesitant if he was doing this anywhere else, but seeing as how he and Kurumi were the only ones who were currently present, he was more obedient in this situation.

"How is it?"

"…it's good…"

Seeing as how the lunch was made by Shido and Kurumi together, there wasn't really any doubt that it was good.

"That's good to hear."

Shido gave Kurumi a bashful look before turning his head to look in front of him again. Apparently it was a careless move, as he suddenly felt something soft press onto his right cheek for a brief moment.

Shido quickly turned to look at Kurumi again, wide-eyed. She was giggling.

"You had some rice on your cheek."

"…but you fed me a tamago…"

And Shido was currently not eating any rice.

"Then I'll put it back."

Another kiss on the cheek. Of course, she had lied about the rice, so nothing was actually put back.

"…alright, your turn."

Shido was now holding his chopsticks which held a piece of breaded chicken to Kurumi's mouth. She gave a look of surprise for a brief moment, but willingly opened her mouth.

"Ahn~"

Kurumi tasted the breaded chicken that she had made with Shido yesterday.

"How is it?"

"Delicious~"

"Unfortunately I don't see any rice on your face."

A chuckle echoed throughout the roof.

Moments after finishing their lunch, Shido and Kurumi remained sitting on the rooftop, taking in the warm sunlight and gentle breeze with their eyes closed.

Suddenly, Shido felt his head being pulled in the direction of where Kurumi was sitting. He was falling all the way to the floor, but was saved thanks to her lap.

"H-Hey, Kurumi."

"…"

Kurumi didn't reply. Her eyes were still closed, as if she had nothing else to say. Happiness could be seen all across her face.

"…"

The two of them remained in the lap pillow situation for a while.

"Lunch is nearly over. We should head back."

Kurumi slowly opened her eyes. A sigh escaped from her lips. Shido took his head off of her lap and began to sit himself upright.

"We'll continue where we left off tomorrow."

Shido was trying to cheer Kurumi up.

"Lunch breaks should be longer."

Shido laughed at Kurumi's selfish remark.

The two of them began to stand up and head for the door, but something about Kurumi had caught Shido's eye.

"Hey, Kurumi."

"Yes?"

Kurumi had turned around to face Shido again, but the moment she did, Shido had moved his face closer to hers until it was only a few inches away.

Kurumi stared at Shido somewhat nervously. His hand suddenly pushed away the bangs that were blocking her other eye. It gave a color that was the same as her right eye, a crystal red. It should have had a golden yellow color with the sketch of an old-fashioned clock.

"Kurumi, are you wearing a contact?"

"Ah."

Kurumi froze for a moment but quickly regained her composure.

"Yes. It's to help prevent other people from seeing how my left eye really looks.

Shido backed away.

"Sorry. I didn't notice until now…"

"It's alright."

Kurumi gave a reassuring smile.

"That's a little sad though, don't you think?"

"Eh?"

"It's like hiding a part of yourself from people."

Kurumi smiled at the strange response.

"Well, it's not like I can just show it to people normally."

"That's true…your bangs alone were fine at covering it up before though, right?"

"Yes. But that was because I didn't have as much to lose."

Kurumi looked at Shido warmly.

"I like you the way you are though..."

Kurumi raised her eyebrows a little.

"…a-…all of you…"

Shido was now avoiding eye contact and scratching his right cheek.

"…including your eye…"

Kurumi readjusted her eyebrows and continued smiling.

"Thank you, Shido."

The two of them stood in place. Shido was scratching the back of his head while Kurumi was shuffling her feet a little.

"I-I'm going back to class!"

Shido was now walking past Kurumi.

"Ah, one second, Shido."

"Hm?"

Shido turned himself back to face Kurumi, but when he did so, he was then softly pulled towards her as she grabbed his tie and was now adjusting it for him.

"Your tie is crooked."

"Oh, uh, thanks."

The adjustment didn't take very long. Kurumi eventually released Shido's tie.

"Alright, let's head back."

Shido resumed walking ahead of Kurumi.

Kurumi herself followed shortly after.

Together they went back to the classroom.

The next day, Kurumi was no longer wearing her contact lens, but she was more careful in making sure no one else noticed the secret behind her bangs.

* * *

(Part 4)

After school.

The halls of Tenguu High were empty.

The only sound that filled the void was the tune that came from the music room.

"So…why are we here again?"

Shido asked as he tried to press the low keys on the left side of the piano while staring at the music sheet placed in front of him.

"Does having fun count as an answer?"

Kurumi attempted to match Shido's playing by pressing the high keys on the right side when the music sheet informed her to.

"It…might count…"

Sitting next to each other on the same bench, the couple's duet was nothing close to amazing, but it wasn't entirely awful either.

Kurumi had suggested to visit the music room before going home, simply for the sake of satisfying her own curiosity of playing a duet. It was also a nice way to see how the synergy between her and Shido was.

Seeing that a low note was about to be played on the piano according to the music sheet, Kurumi quickly reached out her left hand to the same key that Shido was about to press.

Shido did not have time to react. Instead, he had placed his hand on top of Kurumi's and pressed on the target key with her finger.

The movement led to a pause in their playing.

"…you know…"

Shido spoke with a hint of hopelessness in his voice.

Kurumi laughed in amusement.

The rest of the time spent in the music room went on with Shido's playing being constantly thrown off by Kurumi's interference.

* * *

(Page 5)

"Yo, Itsuka. We meet again."

"Yeah, looks like it."

Hiroto Tonomachi and Shido Itsuka stare each other down in the middle of the indoor basketball court inside the gym.

The boys of Shido's class were split into two teams for today's activity.

"Sorry, but I've got a bone to pick with you, so I'm gonna wipe the floor with you today."

Hiroto sliced the air in front of his neck with his thumb as he spoke.

"Oh, and why's that?"

Shido asked with an amused grin.

"Because you're a rival to all men!"

Hiroto pointed at Shido furiously while raising his voice.

"You have girls like Tohka-chan acting crazy for you and you still end up with a girlfriend! Do you know what that does to other men like us!?"

Hiroto's teammates nodded in agreement with their arms folded.

"Um, if a lot of girls like me then wouldn't it be reasonable for one of them to end up as my girlfriend?"

Not to mention going out with girls was practically his job.

"You have a point."

Hiroto did not hesitate to concede to Shido's comment.

"Then…"

"But!"

Hiroto refused to let Shido off the hook.

"That's exactly why we have to defeat you."

"…huh?"

Shido hoped it was his imagination, but he felt as if he could see fire in all of the eyes of his opponents.

"Someone has to knock you down a peg. You're not the only amazing guy in this high school. That's why we'll show them. We'll show them all."

"…I thought you were doing this because you had a bone to pick with me…?"

Shido mumbled those last words.

"Itsuka-kun~"

A girl from Shido's class had ruined the competitive and somewhat hostile atmosphere and was calling him energetically from the side of the gym. She was standing among a crowd of other girls.

Shido stared at the girls in perplexity.

When the girl confirmed that she had caught Shido's attention, she looked at the other girls among the crowd and gave them a nod.

Slowly, the crowd of girls dispersed in half, leaving one girl standing between them.

Shido immediately recognized who the girl standing out in the open was.

Kurumi Tokisaki was wearing a bright cheerleader outfit while holding a pom-pom in each of her hands.

Every boy on the basketball court had their mouth open and felt as if their jaws had dropped all the way to the floor.

Shido gave a similar reaction, but he was more impressed than anyone else because he hardly ever saw Kurumi dressed in bright colors, even though he was the one who spent the most time with her.

"Hang in there, Shido~"

Kurumi waved one of her pom-poms happily above her head with a warm smile.

"This is what I'm talking about!"

Hiroto had come back to his senses. He pointed at Shido furiously again.

"No hard feelings, Itsuka, but today's the day…you…um…Itsuka?"

A shadow had casted across Shido's face, making it difficult to read his expression. Regardless, a fierce aura seemed to be emanating from him, causing Hiroto's voice to trail off.

"…sorry, Tonomachi…"

Shido turned to Hiroto and gave him a determined stare.

"I can't afford to lose today."

Kurumi's outfit seemed to have sparked a new resolve in Shido.

"Hmph, looks like you're not all talk."

Hiroto gave a confident grin.

A teacher had walked to the middle of the basketball court, holding a basketball in one of his arms as Shido and Hiroto stared each other down.

All of the boys went to their positions, with Shido and Hiroto readying themselves to jump for the ball. They both leaped off the ground once the ball was thrown and the whistle was blown.

* * *

Hiroto Tonomachi slowly walked out of the gym with the rest of his teammates. All of them seemed as if their souls had just left their bodies.

"…next time…we'll get him next time…"

In the end Hiroto's team wasn't able to score a single point, part of which was due to Shido's suddenly aggressive playstyle.

After the game ended, Shido immediately went to talk to Kurumi. He made sure not to forget about complimenting Kurumi about the way she was dressed. In return Kurumi had praised Shido about his basketball.


	6. October 13th

_**October 13th**_

Not believing what he had just heard, Shido tried to confirm his suspicions.

"Kurumi...what did you just say?"

"I'm not wearing one."

Kurumi replied so nonchalantly that Shido thought that she was actually enjoying herself.

"Hah!?"

"Like I just said, I'm not wearing one."

Kurumi gave Shido a slightly quizzical look as she remained sitting on the couch. She had thought that he would have already known.

"No, what I mean is why!?"

Putting her finger onto her chin, she thought about how she should reply for a moment.

"Does it really need to take that long for you to give a reason?"

Shido was certain Kurumi was toying with him now. Ignoring his comment, she gave a thin smile.

"Because I felt like it."

Kurumi responded while still maintaining her grin.

"That's not even a good reason!"

"It's not?"

Kurumi continued playing dumb, causing Shido to facepalm himself. For him, it was too early to play games, especially since they were about to leave for school. Thus, feeling that the situation was already hopeless, he decided to let things be.

"Can you at least try to be careful when we get to school?"

As if he had just remembered how many people would be at school, Shido was very concerned about Kurumi's dignity, but as he asked his question, Kurumi gave a look of surprise.

"…You're not going to tell me to put one on?"

Kurumi had thought that that would be the next thing Shido would bring up.

"Normally I would," Shido started, "but I'm sure you have another reason for doing it."

Kurumi continued to stare at him in amazement.

"Besides, I'm sure you wouldn't put one on even if I told you to. They're your clothes. Do what you want with them."

"My, I'm impressed."

"I'm sure you are."

Shido responded sarcastically. He wasn't sure if Kurumi was doing the same though.

"You're wrong about one thing though."

Shido looked at Kurumi with astonishment.

"I am? With what?"

"I would have listened to you."

"Huh~."

Shido exclaimed in wonder.

"But now I think I'll raise the bar a little."

"Huh?"

Shido now exclaimed nervously.

"I'd be willing to wear one," Kurumi started, "if you were the one to put it on for me, Shido."

There was a long pause. And then…

"Right, I think Tohka and the others are leaving for school right now too."

Shido began to head for the door that led to the hallway.

Kurumi gave a chuckle.

"I guess that settles that."

Kurumi followed Shido to the hallway but suddenly stopped the moment she entered it.

"Oh."

"What is it now?"

Shido was already starting to put on his shoes, but before he could fit the first one on, he felt a strong grip on his left arm. Before he even realized it, he was being dragged upstairs with an unbelievable force. His shoe was left behind in the location of where it originally was.

"Hey, what are we doing now!?"

Shido had asked Kurumi, who was the one pulling him, loudly, but she gave no reply. There was, however, a very mischievous look on her face.

The face worried Shido for a moment, and he grew even more worried when he and Kurumi entered Shido's room.

What was worse was that when they entered the room, he saw where they were truly heading for.

"W-W-W-Wait, Kurumi-"

Before Shido could utter another sentence, everything went dark, and all that could be heard was a shriek that echoed throughout the Itsuka household.

* * *

"Did you guys just hear that?"

Tohka and the Yamai twins were putting their shoes on when they heard a familiar yell.

"Shido…san?"

"Uh-oh, sounds like someone's in trouble~"

Yoshino and Yoshinon were also at the front door and were about to see the others off for school.

"That didn't sound very good."

"Alert. We should get going."

Tohka nodded in agreement with the Yamai twins and hastily left the mansion after getting her shoes on.

The sisters followed, and Yoshino had also decided to follow after putting on some convenient slippers.

The moment they reached the front of Shido's house, Tohka rang the doorbell.

"Shido! Are you alright?"

Tohka decided to holler to see if she could get a reply, but there was no response. She looked at the others who were also slightly troubled.

Tohka was thinking of breaking the door open, but before she could finish her thought, some footsteps could suddenly be heard from inside.

Staring intently at the front door, Tohka noticed that it was slowly opening. A girl's head popped out from the other side of the door.

"Oh, Tohka-san, good morning."

Kurumi did not look the least bit disturbed.

"Kurumi, did something happen?"

Kurumi gave a reassuring smile to Tohka's question.

"No need to worry, everything's just fine."

"But I heard a scream just now."

"Oh, that was probably Shido."

"Did something happen to Shido?"

"Yes, but it's nothing serious."

As if to put the others at ease, Kurumi began to fully open the door.

Tohka and the others were expecting to see Shido, but instead…

"Ah."

"So that's how it was."

"Ridiculous. I should have known."

Yuzuru felt a little betrayed for being worked up for something that wasn't as urgent as she had expected.

"Ohh, if it isn't Shiori-chan~"

Yoshinon was waving at the person inside the house.

"H-Hi guys…"

Shiori greeted the others shyly.

"Why are you dressed like that, Shido?"

"Ask her."

Shiori looked a little crestfallen, and so she pointed to Kurumi instead of answering Tohka's question herself.

"Apparently there's a day in the US called 'No Bra Day'."

Kurumi spoke with a somewhat beaming face.

"No...Bra Day?"

"Oh yeah, I heard about something like that. It's supposed to be going on today."

Kaguya was already aware of the holiday and had suddenly understood most of the reasoning.

"Suspicious. Why do you know about something like that, Kaguya?"

"Sh-Shut up! I just happened to hear someone talk about it the other day, okay?"

Kaguya turned to Shiori.

"What does that have to do with you crossdressing though?"

Shiori began to hug herself above the chest area.

"Wait. Don't tell me."

"Inquiry. Shiori, are you not wearing a bra?"

"D-Did you have to say it like that!?"

Shiori's face grew hot red.

"I see I see. That's not a bad idea~"

"…"

Yoshinon was showing his support while Yoshino remained quiet.

"I wanted to go without one today too, but I thought this would be more amusing, so I put mine back on and let Shiori do it for me."

Kurumi gave a chuckle after giving her explanation.

"Hey, this isn't funny!"

"Are you kidding?"

Tohka and the others were doing their best to hide their own chuckles.

"Well done…my kin."

Kaguya gave Kurumi a thumbs up while trying to keep herself from falling onto the ground out of humor.

"I'm flattered by your praise."

"Like I said, it's not funnyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"

Shiori's distress could be heard throughout the entire neighborhood.

* * *

Kotori stared at the Fraxinus' giant monitor, which was showing the front of the Itsuka household.

"What's she complaining about? She never wore one as a boy in the first place."

Kotori gave a sigh before putting her Chupa Chup back into her mouth.

* * *

Note: Yes, No Bra Day is legit.

I'm a guy who doesn't have the nerve to crossdress for it though, so I figured I'd write about it.

Also sorry for the lack of stories and updates lately, everyone.

No excuses, but laziness and school are a thing too.

There's more, but it'll probably be kept to myself for a while.

I hope this is enough for now.


	7. Hair

_**Hair**_

Kurumi had taken her seat at her desk in the classroom. While waiting for the school day to begin, one of her classmates had walked up to her.

"Good morning, Tokisaki-san~"

After transferring back into Tenguu High, Kurumi had been spending most of her time with Shido during school hours. As time passed, however, she had started to make friends with ordinary people on her own. The girl who had approached her was one of the people whom Kurumi had gotten acquainted with.

"Good morning."

Kurumi replied with a gentle tone and smile.

"Hey, hey, did you do something to your hair?"

Kurumi's classmate had only greeted her for the sake of good manners. She did not hesitate to get straight to the point afterwards.

Hearing her classmate ask about Kurumi's hair, Kurumi held a few ends of her hair and brought it to eye level.

"No, I don't think I have."

"It looks different somehow, though…"

Kurumi let the end of her hair back down after confirming that she had not done anything to it.

After she let her hair down, she realized that she really didn't do anything to her hair.

That was because she had counted on Shido to take care of her hair last night.

"Actually, I did have Shido brush it for me last night."

"Really? It looks more…delicate…than usual, I guess you could say. I'm not really sure how to explain it…"

The classmate laughed at herself for how silly she seemed to be acting. She was one of the people who knew about Shido and Kurumi's relationship.

"Does he do that for you every day?"

Kurumi shook her head at the question.

"No, usually he doesn't. I just wanted to see how it felt if he had done it for me."

"Hmmm~"

Kurumi's classmate gave a hum to show her interest. She took a seat in the desk in front of Kurumi, not caring about the person whom it belonged to. She turned around so that she was facing her left side to Kurumi, and placed her left elbow on Kurumi's desk while resting her chin on the palm of her hand.

"Tell me more."

* * *

Yesterday.

"Guess that's enough homework for today."

Just as he had closed his notebook and placed his pencil on top of his desk, Shido heard a knock at the door.

"Come on in."

Shido had turned himself to face his bed, but he looked to his right in order to see the door open while he was still seated in his chair.

Kurumi was standing in the hallway wearing black pajamas. She held a towel on top of her head with her right hand and was holding a hair brush with her left.

"What's up, Kurumi?"

Shido looked at Kurumi in wonder as he asked.

Kurumi raised the hand that she was holding the brush with.

"Could I ask you for a favor?"

Kurumi asked while smiling shyly.

"Do you want me to brush your hair?"

Kurumi gave a slight nod.

"I don't mind, but can I ask why?"

Kurumi's shy smile had faded.

"There's no real reason. I just felt like having you do it today."

"Okay then…"

Shido looked around his room wondering where he could brush Kurumi's hair. Unfortunately he had only one chair in his room at the moment. Not knowing a better alternative, he pointed to the bed in front of him.

"Should we do it on the bed?"

Not caring about where her hair would be brushed, Kurumi replied with a "that's fine" and sat on the edge of Shido's bed after entering the room. She took the towel off of her head and held the brush out to Shido, who voluntarily took it and sat down next to her.

"Um…I don't usually brush a girl's hair, so…sorry if I do it wrong…"

"It'll be fine."

Kurumi replied assuredly.

"Here I go, then."

Shido gently grabbed a portion of Kurumi's hair in an area that was halfway between the top of her head and the end. He started brushing at the end, making sure that he wouldn't tug at anything.

"…"

The room was mostly silent, with only the sound of brush against hair being heard. The atmosphere stayed like this for several minutes.

During the moment of silence, Shido noticed many things about Kurumi.

Her hair felt smooth, despite it still being slightly wet.

She also smelled nice, since she had just gotten out of the bath.

Most importantly, Shido had just realized that he had joined a girl in sitting on his bed. The thought of Kurumi's charm and their current situation made the cheeks on his face turn pink. Regardless, he did his best to keep his composure so that he wouldn't damage Kurumi's hair.

"…um…"

Shido nearly jumped nervously from Kurumi breaking the silence. Kurumi had noticed and turned her head slightly to look at him.

"Is something wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, uh, no…"

Shido continued to brush Kurumi's hair, but he decided to look away while doing so.

"…I was just…admiring your hair…"

Shido tried to tell Kurumi the reason he was acting strange in hopes that she wouldn't feel anxious, but the reason made him speak very quietly.

"I see..."

Kurumi seemed to have heard Shido anyway. He turned to look back at Kurumi in hopes of seeing what kind of face she was making. She had a grin on her face.

"You seem kind of happy. Oh, could you turn your back to me? I need to do the other side now."

Kurumi did as Shido asked and turned around. Her back was now facing him.

"Do you really want to know why I'm so happy?"

Kurumi didn't forget about Shido's concern.

"Well, when you ask me it makes me want to know more."

Kurumi laughed at Shido's remark. A short moment of silence followed.

"Well…to be honest…"

Kurumi decided to break the silence again.

"…I was wondering what you thought about my hair while you were brushing it."

Shido stopped brushing for a brief second but decided to continue as quickly as he had stopped.

"O-Oh…"

"But since you said that it's nice, I guess I'm a little overjoyed now."

"That's…good…"

Shido was giving a third of his attention to brushing Kurumi's hair now. The other two-thirds were given to his conversation and his heartbeat. Eventually he was able to concentrate more on brushing again and proceeded to work on the part of Kurumi's hair that was closer to the top of her head.

The room remained silent for the rest of the time. Shido was also behind Kurumi, so he couldn't tell what kind of expression she was making.

"Right, I think that about does it."

After Shido brushed the last area of Kurumi's head, he gently took the brush away.

"Okay, all done."

Shido leaned back onto his hands with the brush still in one of his hands. He examined Kurumi's hair one more time to confirm that he had done it properly. In this case, properly meant that there was no damage to her hair.

As he looked at her hair, however, he noticed that Kurumi's back was slowly approaching him.

"Eh? Kurumi?"

Shido softly called out her name as she fell onto him. He had caught her by her shoulders. As he did so, the rest of her body began to lean further onto him. He was about to call her name out again until he saw her face. Her eyes were closed, and she was breathing slowly. He wasn't sure if he should be proud that he developed a new skill or if he should panic over the fact that someone had just fallen asleep on him on his own bed.

Shido couldn't support both his and Kurumi's weight any longer, and so he fell onto his bed with Kurumi still being held by her shoulders.

"Um…Kurumi-san~"

Shido whispered nervously to Kurumi and added some formality in hopes that he wouldn't upset her if she woke up. He also shook her a little. As a result, she rolled off of Shido and onto his bed.

"…why does she even have a separate room?"

Shido asked no one in particular as he got off of his bed to turn off the lights. In the end he decided not to wake her up.

He took the towel that Kurumi had and hung it onto the back of his chair. He left the brush on his desk.

Realizing that he was also tired, Shido approached his bed with a yawn and lied down next to Kurumi.

Shido snuck under his blanket.

"Ah."

The warmth of his blanket made him notice that Kurumi was sleeping on top of it. He started to worry that she might get cold later tonight.

"Hey~ Kurumi~"

Shido whispered to Kurumi while poking her cheek. In response, Kurumi began to toss and turn while mumbling something that Shido couldn't hear. Her tossing and turning eventually stopped, and one of her arms was now hugging Shido across his chest.

* * *

"Not bad."

Kurumi's classmate folded her arms and gave a nod of approval.

"But how did you know about the part you were asleep for?"

The girl looked at Kurumi inquisitively.

"I wonder."

Kurumi pretended to play dumb and gave a shrug, but she had a hard time suppressing her smile.

"Clever."

It seems the act of playing dumb had failed. Kurumi wasn't expecting it to succeed anyhow.

"I appreciate the compliment."

Kurumi's smile widened.

"Ah, and look who's here."

The classmate looked past Kurumi and gave a grin.

Kurumi turned her head to look behind her. Shido was walking up to her and her acquaintance.

"Morning, Romeo~"

Kurumi's classmate greeted Shido and gave an out-of-place salute.

"Uh, morning."

Confused about his newly given title, Shido decided to just return the greeting with a small wave of his hand.

"Well, guess I'll leave you two lovebirds alone now."

The girl stood up from her seat.

"Later, Tokisaki-san."

She nodded to Kurumi.

"Itsuka-kun."

She also nodded to Shido and then walked to the other side of the classroom.

"What was that about?"

Shido sat in the seat that Kurumi's classmate had just left behind. He looked at Kurumi after he sat down.

"It's nothing you need to worry about."

Kurumi gave a giggle.

"Okay…"

Knowing that class was about to begin, Shido decided to ask Kurumi about things later if he remembered.


	8. Afterword

So…it's been a while, hasn't it?

I'm not gonna lie, I've been rather lazy, and school isn't helping, but Spring Break just started, and I figured I'd work on the story a bit more.

To be honest, I still feel pretty lazy, but the worst part of this is that I'm stuck on advancing the real plot that I've been thinking of.

In other words, I have been working on the rest of the story, but all I've been doing is mapping out the plot. I haven't really typed anything, so for that I sincerely apologize.

Fortunately, today is White Day, so I think now would be a good time to share some more stories.

This story is a little different from the other ones.

If you haven't figured it out already, I titled this story "Collection," because it's a collection of the other stories that I've thought of.

I decided to make these a collection because they're rather short, so I got the idea of putting the stories that aren't long enough all together into one big volume. Since they're kind of just ideas that I happen to come up with, they'll probably lack detail, but hopefully this will entertain some readers more as I work on the rest of the story.

I also think that I'll add more scenarios to this archive if I ever think of any more. In other words, these will probably be updated multiple times.

It's also pretty late, and I'm running on a few hours of sleep, so this probably looks like one big grammatical mess, but I plan on proofreading and correcting the mistakes as I update, so apologies for that too, but I'll be trying to improve the grammar as I go and as time flies.

Finally, while I'm at it, I figured I should also mention what's been happening with the actual Date A Live franchise.

First off, if you haven't heard already, Date A Live's visual novels for the PlayStation 3, Rinne Utopia and Ars Install, are being ported to the PlayStation Vita as one whole game. The new title for the PS Vita copy is "Date A Live Twin Edition: Rio Reincarnation," and it's supposed to include a new story (and Shido's actually going to have a voice! :D).

There's no exact release date yet, but it is said to be sometime during the summer of this year. You can find the same (as well as more) info on the game's homepage. If you Google "Date A Live Twin Edition Compile Heart" the homepage should be listed as the last source of the search page.

Second, if you also haven't heard, Date A Live is going to be participating in Anime Japan which is an event that will run from March 20th – March 22nd, so new information about the movie, titled "Date A Live Mayuri Judgment," will probably be revealed then too. Hopefully information of the new game will be shared too, but that's just wishful thinking.

I don't know about you guys, but I am so hyped. Of course, the first thing I'm doing when I play the new visual novel is go for the Kurumi ending; however, I've also been interested in Marina from Ars Install. This is going to be a good year.

* * *

Update: April 26th, 2015

The release date for Date A Live Twin Edition Rio Reincarnation for the PS Vita is set for July 30th this summer!

Also Mayuri Judgment is set for August 22nd!

* * *

Update: May 17th, 2016

I'm alive!

School's been keeping me busy.

But summer break is here.

One of the things on my list?

To finish putting my ideas into words.

Also I love the Date A Live visual novel.

Favorite game ever.

The movie was alright.


End file.
